BRAZIL
December 30, 2024
The Brazilian Patent and Trademark Office (BRPTO) has announced updated criteria for receiving PPH requests in 2025 (Ordinance 26/2024, published in Official Bulletin No. 2816 on December 24, 2024). This new criterion outlines the procedure for Phase V of the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) Pilot Project in Brazil.
Key aspects of the Ordinance include:
- 800 PPH application requests will be available starting January 1, 2025.
- 800 additional requests will be available each quarter, on April 1, July 1, and October 1, 2025, totaling 3,200 requests for the year.
- Requests will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis, according to the filing date.
- All requests will count towards the limit, regardless of acceptance.
- Requests for patents classified under IPC H04 will not be accepted in the first quarter of 2025.
- Acceptance of requests for IPC H04 and other classifications will be reviewed and updated quarterly.
- Inadmissible PPH requests will revert to regular examination proceedings; any amendments filed with the PPH request will not be considered.
- Applicants may request a refund of fees for inadmissible PPH requests. They may also resubmit their requests with updated documentation.
- The BRPTO will publish weekly updates on the total number of PPH requests filed during the year on its official website.
In order to access the full text of our newsletter, please click on the link below, "Complete bulletin in PDF".